Shooting Star Zero
Shooting Star Zero is the sequel to Storm's Brewing and does fall within the Storm's Brewing Universe. It takes place approximately two to three years after Storm's Brewing concludes, and all major events from Fossil Fighters: Frontier are canon. Chapter One: Big Bang The echoing sound of dripping water was omnipresent in the cave, and I strained my ears to try and listen for any other signs of movement. The slight swish as an object flew through the air caught my attention, and I stuck my hand in order to block the attack, but I felt the object go right through my fingers and hit my temple. Rather than disintegrate into water droplets on contact, like all of my teacher’s training tools, the projectile fell to the ground. I heard a sigh reverberate through the cave. “I hoped that we’d have a bit more time to get you a bit more properly trained before you left, but seeing as your application process begins tomorrow, your current skill level will suffice. Take the card next to you. You might be able to make use of it.” I picked it up and examined it. It appeared to be almost like a trading card, with a picture of a blue and yellow Vivosaur at the top. There was no text other than what I assumed was the name of the Vivosaur in question, called a “Hydro Yutie”. I stuck it in my pocket before my teacher continued. “Just head out on the Bonehemoth back to Ilium. There should be a helicopter waiting for you. Good luck, Pulse. I’m sure you’ll do great.” He stepped out of the shadows and offered his hand, which I shook before making my way to the entrance of the cave. As I boarded the yellow whale known as the Bonehemoth, I examined the set of clothes I had been given for my trip. The long, dark blue coat and baggy pants were rather plain and concealing, something I hadn’t expected to receive from my trainer, who, despite being a ninja who was fond of stealth tactics, wore a light blue outfit and an orange visor, as if he took some fashion tips from a power ranger. I shrugged and moved towards the front of the whale’s mouth, where I saw the giant tonsil known as Tonzilla happily wobbling around. A young, green-haired girl was leaned up against it, snacking on a piece of cheese. She saw me and promptly stuffed the rest in her mouth and started to anchor her feet to the hardened layer of sediment lining the inside of the creature. She looked at me for confirmation, and seeing me nod, reached out and tickled the massive tonsil. There was a slight moaning as a rush of water flooded into the Bonehemoth and I was ejected from the whale. A few minutes later, I was sitting in a FossilDig helicopter on a special flight to what was known as Fossil Park Asia. Apparently my teacher had called in a favor with a friend of a friend in order to book the individual flight outside of normal departure times. I took this chance to relax and reminisce a bit about what had brought me here. It was about a year ago when I first met my trainer. I was helping out at my family’s grocery store, TriceraCrops, a small store that focused on organic crops. My parents had gotten into a health kick a few years after I was born and so we moved out to the countryside to start a farm. I grew up helping out in the field alongside our namesake Tricera, and eventually I began helping at the store too. It was here that a young man came by the cash register and handed me a slip of paper. I looked it over, and after reading it fully, including the fine print, I handed it back to him. “I’m sorry sir, but I won’t be able to accept this.” I gave him an apologetic grin. “Oh? And why not?” He gave me a slightly confused look and eyed the paper again. “Well for starters, that coupon expired just yesterday.” “Oh.” He stared down at the small numbers on the paper. “So it did. Well, that’s alright. I have the amount, in full, right here.” I accepted the bills and punched in the numbers in the cash register. By the time I handed him his change I had already decided. “I feel pretty bad that you missed the date by only a day, why don’t I buy you lunch to make up for it?” He quickly glanced up from sticking the coins back in his wallet. “Oh, no it’s alright. It was my fault for not reading the coupon; you really shouldn’t worry about it.” “No, I insist.” A little bit more insisting later and I had him seated at a nearby café, the two of us waiting for our meals. I watched his hand as it idly twirled above his glass of water, and the water seemingly following along. Then, to my amazement, the water began to flow out from the glass and gather together, first forming a blob, then growing more and more detailed until it became a perfect representation of a Caliosteo Dilopho. I gave a slight gasp and he turned his head, the Dilopho turning with him. It took him a few seconds to figure out where my gaze laid, and when he did the Dilopho dissolved into hundreds of small water droplets which drifted back into the glass. “I’m sorry if I’ve startled you.” The waiter glided past the table, putting down our orders on the table before promptly moving on. The boy then continued. “As you obviously saw, I have a degree of control over the element of water. Tell me, what’s your honest opinion about it?” Thoughts surged through my head, and I reached out amidst the flurry and grabbed at the largest one. “Well, I thought that it was pretty cool.” He stared at me intensely for a few seconds before reclining back in his chair. “Well, I certainly think you have the potential for it. So I just have one more question for you. It’s obvious to me that you care very deeply for Vivosaurs, so how would you feel about a position as a Warden?” “Warden?” “Here,” he said, passing a pamphlet over to me. “This should explain everything you need to know. Take your time to read it over, and if you decide yes, I can train you to prepare for the job.” He turned his attention back to his meal, but I could tell he was expecting my answer. I read over the pamphlet carefully. “Protecting the world’s fossil parks, working alongside Vivosaurs? Sounds like something I might be interested in. When can I start?” Chapter Two: Accretion The helicopter landed down just south of Fossil Park Asia’s Warden Building. I thanked the pilot, tipped my borrowed blue cap, and ran out, heading towards the large robotic dinosaur in the center of the plaza. Using a bit of water from the surrounding air, I tried to boost over the fence and land feet on the floor, but instead, the swirling liquid blasted me over the fence and right into the dinosaur. My scarf caught and I hung, suspended from the mouth of the beast, before my scarf’s loose knot came undone and I crashed to the floor. I picked myself up and, after extracting my scarf from the robot’s maw, took my prized possession, the Aquaticus, from my bag. It was a well weathered tome I had received from my teacher, detailing the art of controlling water. I had only tried to control the water in the air a handful of times, none of which had ever performed as effectively as it just had, and as such, I was prepared to do most of the jump myself. A cursory flip through the book’s pages gave no indication of what had happened, and an attempt at repeating the process fared no better. I sighed and packed the book back into my bag, heading towards the Warden Building. Once inside I was greeted by the lady at the information desk. “Hello, can I help you?” “Hi, I’m here to meet with Captain Stryker?” I handed her my forms and she nodded. “Head on in, just take the elevator up to the Captain’s office.” She waved towards the elevator behind her, and headed upstairs. The office was completely empty at first glance, but when I turned around, I saw a young man, wearing a light blue parka that matched his hair, who was leaning against the wall. “Hi, my name’s Pulse,” I greeted, extending out my hand. “Glace.” He shook quickly, and then dropped his hand down. Moments later, the door beside him slid open and a girl with teal hair walked in, the Warden Captain Stryker following behind her. She hung back with Glace while the Captain took his place at his desk. “I’m sure you’re all anxious to know why you’re here, and I’ll get to that shortly. But first, congratulations on passing your prior tests with flying colors. While it is typical protocol to perform a final test, the three of you already show great promise with bone buggy operation and have been highly praised by your instructors and observers. Because of this, rather than give you the standard test, you three will be forming a squadron and working together in the field.” The captain sat back and reached into his desk, pulling out three cards. “So, Ribbon, Glace, Pulse,” he punctuated each of our names by handing us our card, “these are your Warden Licenses. Please go meet Liu Ren down at the Garage, where he’ll go over how you’ll be getting Bone Buggies. Dismissed!” Category:Stories